The Storm Raging Inside
by bitternessbitesback
Summary: Amu Hinamori is considered by many to be "cool and spicy", and as such she comes off as unapproachable. What they don't know is that they couldn't be further from the truth, though there is one person who begins to take notice of the seemingly aloof pinkette. (College AU)


Amu Hinamori, for the most part, was a fairly average person. She completed her schoolwork on time, worked part time in a bakery with her cousin, ran in the mornings around campus, and occasionally sat in the park to draw. Many of her classmates considered her to have a "cool and spicy" personality. Though they couldn't be further from the truth, as on the inside Amu was incredibly anxious about doing and saying the wrong things. Being reserved by nature and having a constant stoic expression don't help dissuade those views of her either unfortunately no matter how hard she tried.

"Hey did you hear about the new store that popped up?" Amu overheard Manami ask Wakana and another girl the latter two were hanging out with from behind her; subconsciously the aloof woman slowed her pace so as to better hear the conversation.

"Yeah! It looked really cute! We should stop by there before going back to the dorm." Wakana eagerly replied before continuing in a softer tone, "Should we invite Hinamori-san?"

"No way!" Manami hurried out in a hushed tone, "She's way too cool for a place like that, I'd hate to get laughed at."

"Yeah.. you're right." Wakana sounded dejected and that's when Amu decided to stop eavesdropping.

As she changed direction to the library she couldn't help but think how much she hated when things like that happened, of course her outer personality just had to ruin things for her! It was honestly tiring putting up a front like this all the time, but the pinkette didn't know how else to be. Her persona was born from a need to act like the tough older sister and somewhere along the way it stuck, now it felt like it was too late to change. Even her own family didn't know what she was really like, though she couldn't really blame them. Now that she was in college it was even harder to show them her true self, unfortunately with schoolwork and her job she only ever saw them on holiday's and birthdays.

A sigh escaped the woman's lips as she pulled out her text books, getting an early start on her essay that wasn't due till next month. Amu had always done well in school, with no friends to hang out with after school and only occasional baby sitting duty, there was really no excuse to fail. So she did what she always did to distract herself, and studied, popping in headphones to help her concentrate, and hitting the play button to listen to Utau Hoshina's latest song. Her younger sister Ami loved Utau when they were growing up and constantly went with Amu to see the blonde sing live. They had even met the singer twice when Amu had saved up enough to get them Meet & Greet passes, Ami was so happy when Amu told her the news both times. A smile found it's way onto the pinkette's face at the memory as she began to hum quietly along to the song and write down information she could use in her paper.

Before she knew it the sky was beginning to get dark and the librarian was rushing her out. The September air was chilly and Amu had to pull her cardigan tighter around herself as she started the walk back to her dorm room. She thinks she really should have brought a coat with her this morning, although she wasn't expecting to be out so late. There's a rustling in the bushes that caused her to stop and tense up; now Amu would never admit it, but she was actually a really paranoid person. She blames it on all the scary stories the girls from elementary school used to say to psyche each other out, though she tries not to think about _any _of those tall tales right now as she takes a deep breath. From next to her she heard a small meow, a sound that nearly caused her to jump right out of her skin. With a hand on her heart in an attempt to calm down, she looked to the left where the sound came from, and saw a small black cat with large yellow eyes peering up at her.

"You nearly gave me a heart attack," She grumpily told the cat whilst reaching her hand out for it to sniff. "What're you doing out so late?" She questioned as it leaned into her touch.

As she petted the cat she managed to lift it's head up slowly so as to get a better look at the collar.

"Yoru, huh? What a cool name." Amu proclaimed, his yellow orbs stared into her own amber eyes before closing slightly with contentedness.

"Well, I better get going." With that she gave Yoru one final pat on the head, "Do you need help getting back home?"

The cat seemed like he was sizing her up and for a split second she was convinced he might answer. Though he simply got up and turned away, wandering off towards the boy's dorms. The pinkette watched the cat for a couple seconds more, before she continued on her way. Thankfully the walk from the library to her dorms was short because she was exhausted, it'd been a long day of being her outer persona and right now she just wanted to curl up in bed and warm up with some hot tea. Suddenly, it felt like she was being watched, and the pinkette felt the hairs on her arm stand. Amu couldn't help tensing up as her mind raced with all the possibilities of something out there watching her, waiting to kill her. With a shake of her head and a deep breath, she glanced over her shoulder, and relaxed slightly when she didn't see anyone. She was just being silly again, letting her anxiety get the better of her, so she turned to face forward, and made her way to the dormitory. And if she walked back faster than she normally would, well there was nobody around to call her out on it (at least nobody she noticed anyway).

* * *

Amu was seriously beginning to wonder if this cat really had a home, despite the fact that he had a collar, she just wasn't convinced. This was the fourth time in two weeks she'd seen him upon leaving the library, and she'd taken to carrying treats on her person. Sure, cats were known to be practically self-sufficient creatures, but wasn't dangerous to let them be outside all the time? What if he got run over? Or even worse, what if poor Yoru got snatched up by a hawk?! That would be terrible! If she ever met the owner, she'd be sure to give them a talking to! She knows she would be devastated if anything ever happened to her guinea pigs, luckily she had her parents to thank for watching over them.

"I thought we weren't allowed to have pets on campus," Amu wondered aloud as she knelt down to scratch behind the black cats ears, "You should get back home before the campus guards find out and take you away."

"I doubt that'll happen." A cool, masculine voice spoke behind her, causing the woman to shriek and jump up, clutching her heart. The pinkette turned around carefully and took in the much taller man; he dressed in dark, gothic clothing, had dark hair and piercing blue eyes.

"And why is that?" She narrowed her eyes at the man who sneaked up on her as she tried in vain to calm her panicked heart.

"Because he's a smart cat, Yoru always knows whenever a guard is nearby." He told her in a matter of fact way that had Amu believing that the cat belonged to him.

"You know, you should keep a better eye on your cat, a hawk could come and snatch him away." She scolded.

"Hawks?" He asked in disbelief, "At this time of night? Besides, we're not nearly close enough to any mountains for that."

Amu can felt her cheeks heating up in embarrassment and scoffed before turning away from the man, "Whatever, just don't come crying to me if he ever gets snatched up."

The pink haired woman neglected to wait for a response and simply started to walk back to her dorm. After about a minute, he caught up to her and spoke in the same scolding manner she took with him earlier.

"You know," He started, clearly teasing, "It isn't wise for you to be out so late by yourself."

"Oh really?" Her eyebrow twitches in annoyance and she can feel a headache coming on, "I can take care of myself thank you very much."

"Of that I have no doubt." She could practically feel the smile in his voice and resolutely avoided looking at him as he continued to walk with her.

"Do you always study this late?" He questioned after a minute of no response from her.

"No. Sometime's I go to work." She didn't know why she mentioned this, or why she's even still talking to him.

"Oh you work at the Hinamori Patissiere right?" At this Amu stopped walking and shot the man a bewildered look that has him quickly continuing, "I stop by sometimes, and when I saw you petting Yoru I thought you looked familiar."

"Um, yeah I do." She started before shaking her head and apologizing, "Sorry, I didn't recognize you at first." To be honest she still didn't remember him despite trying to place him in her head; though she idly wondered if he could be a stalker, and opted not to continue walking to her dorm lest he come murder her in the middle of the night.

He shrugs in a sort of nonchalant way before bending down to pick up Yoru, and Amu was surprised to have forgotten the cats presence. When neither party decided to continue the conversation and the golden-eyed woman neglected to continue on her way, the tall man chose to leave first.

"See you later bakery girl." He said with a wave of his hand as he walks off in the direction of the boys dorms.

"Keep a better eye on that cat!" She called out to his retreating form, and waited a good moment before she felt safe enough to head to her own dorm.

* * *

Despite having been in college for a while now, Amu still didn't quite know what she wanted to do with her life. So far she's been taking all the required courses, but the semester would be ending soon and she would need to decide on a career path. And as much as she enjoyed drawing, she just couldn't see herself making a career out of it. When she was younger she wanted to be a cake decorator, but upon growing she realized what a foolish dream that was, so she abandoned it somewhere in fourth or fifth grade. She just wasn't as talented as Shuu was, despite learning almost everything she knew about baking from him. With a sigh (she's found herself doing that a lot lately), Amu headed off in the direction of her next class. Funny enough, it was a cooking class. Though Amu prided herself on being a decent baker, for whatever reason cooking just didn't come as naturally to her.

"Alright class," Spoke the teacher in a syrupy sweet voice, "Today I want you to work in groups of two to come up with your own unique flavor of Mochi. Whether you want to make Daifuku, the Hanabira, or ice cream variety is up to you. All I ask is that you get creative with it! And yes you are allowed to choose your own partners, but if I see you goofing off I will not hesitate to separate you. Now get to work!"

Amu has always hated working in groups, and unfortunately this class provided more than enough opportunities to get the students to work together. Thankfully, however, there was one person who the pinkette got along with, and he seemed to be thinking the same thing as he slid into the seat next to her.

"Partners?" He questioned even though Amu was sure he knew the answer by now.

"Partners." She agreed as she took two aprons off the hook and handed one to Nagihiko's outstretched hand. "What kind of Mochi were you thinking we should make?"

"How about Ichigo Daifuku?" He questioned and Amu felt exasperated.

"Always the overachiever huh?" Regardless she gathered the necessary ingredients.

"Of course, I doubt anyone else is thinking about using strawberries anyway."

"Well yeah, that's because strawberry isn't a 'creative' flavor."

"Oh yeah, and what would you suggest adding to make it more creative?"

"We could always add some yuzu peels?" As Nagihiko gave he a curious look, Amu found herself in a rush to take back her words, "Of maybe not, we could just add some Macha instead-"

"No, it's a great idea!" He reassured, "Are you sure you came up with it?"

With an affronted gasp and a shove to the table, the pink haired woman can feel herself loosening up. While the only time she interacted with the long haired man was in this class, she found herself enjoying his company and wished they could hang out more. Of course Nagihiko was a busy person, what with his main focus being on his Master of Fine Arts in Dance degree. Apparently he wanted to be a famous dancer, and then a dance teacher. Amu thought he was the coolest person she knew, even when Nagihiko was Nadeshiko, they were still cooler than her.

Before she met Nagihiko, she never knew that some people could be more than one gender, and he opened up her previously closed eyes. Thankfully Nagihiko had a system, and would were a necklace with a blue bead for when he felt more like a guy, and would switch out the bead for a pink one for when he felt more like a girl. Right now he was dressed in what he called his "boy clothes" and had a blue bead on. It wasn't too confusing for Amu to understand and though she didn't often get the chance to tell him, she admired him greatly. He was more honest with himself than she could ever be. With a sad sigh, Amu refocused her thoughts onto the task at hand.

"You seem to have something on your mind today." Nagihiko told her, and looked at her expectantly.

"Just thinking about midterms coming up." She lied easily through her teeth as she washed the strawberries and yuzus.

"Considering how often I see you in the library, I don't think you have anything to worry about." Although he spoke in a comforting tone, it was clear that he didn't believe her earlier fib.

She simply shrugged in response before setting both fruits into one of the bowls, and moved over to their table. As she pat the strawberries dry with a paper towel it felt like Nagihiko's brown eyes were staring into her soul. In an effort to ignore the effect his piercing gaze had on her, she resolutely focused on carefully removing the leaves of the strawberries. Nagihiko could be really persuasive when he wanted to be, but Amu felt too embarrassed to tell him the truth. As close as it seemed like they were, this was probably the only class they would ever have together, and after this they would never speak again.

"Do you have plans after class?" He asked, effectively causing her to loose her train of thought.

"What?" She questioned and wondered for a brief second if he could read minds.

"Are you busy after this?" He repeats as he mixed the mochiko, sugar, and salt.

"No," She informed him as she refocused on her own task, "Why?"

"Some of my friends from middle school and I are all getting together after this to catch up, you should join us."

"I wouldn't want to be a bother." To be honest, Amu had actually known Nagihiko in middle school. Though they never spoke and only ever had one class together in their entire time at being in the same school. Nagihiko was apart of the student council back then and Amu had a fairly good idea about which friends he was talking about.

"I wouldn't have invited you if I thought you'd be a bother." He expressed, and Amu felt her resolve shattering.

"Only if you're sure they wouldn't mind." She paused in her pasting of the anko onto the strawberry as she waited for his reply.

"Of course they wouldn't."

"Then... I'd like that a lot. Thanks."

His eyes are on her again and she can feel as a blush rose to her cheeks that she tried valiantly to fight down. Though nervous at the prospect of seeing her middle school crush and the rest of the student council, she couldn't help but feel excited at being invited out. She was so lost in her thoughts as always that she failed to notice the small, contended smile that graced her features. Nagihiko noticed, however, and stowed it away in his brain for later. A part of him wished he'd tried to be friends with her sooner, back when they were 11, he wondered if he could make up for that now. Amu reminded him a lot of his girlfriend Rima at times, and was because of this that he was trying harder to be there for his pink haired classmate. He was sure she would be a life long friend, if she would only let down her guard more often.

* * *

**AN: I don't know how long I'm planning on this being, because it was originally just going to be a one-shot. There's a lot of stuff that I want to cover in this fic between the relationship of Amu and Ikuto, but I have a long way to go for that. I also decided halfway through writing this that Amu actually needed more friends for this story to work the way I want it to, and to help Amu be more comfortable in being her true self. **

**Amu is 20 going on 21, which makes Ikuto 23 going on 24. Ami and Utau will be mentioned more in the story and I have big plans for them as well, so Ami is 13 and Utau is 22 so everybody knows. Tadase, Nagihiko, Rima, Kairi, and Kukai's ages are all somewhere in between 20 and 23 and Yaya of course would 19 since she's the youngest out of their friend group, though she's not going to college. **

**Also here's the relationships everybody's in in this fic: Nagihiko and Rima; Kairi and Yaya; Kukai and Utau; and obviously the one you're all here for... Amu and Ikuto.**

**I hope you all enjoy and I really appreciate the feedback! xoxo**


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